OnTap Magazine

40 | Winter 2025 | ontapmag.co.za ʻSTATE OF THE INDUSTRY’ PANEL HIGHLIGHTS The main event at BeerEx Africa is the full-day conference on the Saturday featuring big name brewers from the global beer industry and experts from across the African continent. For the second year in a row, the day began with a panel discussion around the ‘State of the Industry.’ Each of the four panelists offered compelling insights from their varying positions in the industry, and below we capture some of the highlights from that discussion. As BASA's CEO, Charlene was asked to provide a big picture, lay-of-the- land, starting with the findings from a recent Oxford Economics study on the economic contributions of the beer industry and what she thinks those findings tell us, as well as what growth opportunities she identifies. • Beer is big business: the Oxford study confirmed that in 2023 the local beer industry added R96.46-billion into South Africa’s GDP, R56.5-billion in tax revenue, and it supported 209,000 jobs. • There is a need to continue to showcase the industry, specifically, the quality of the beverage, the innovation and the technology involved, and the skill and the artistry. • Beer has a negative reputation. “We need to show up as an industry in a way that’s sexy, that’s appealing to the average consumer.” • “There’s a different side to beer: beer is diverse, it’s dynamic.” • From a consumer perspective, there’s room for growth. More and more women are starting to drink beer. Brewers need to be a little more creative around that female palette: “Studies have shown as that 32% of women drink beer; what do we do with the rest of them? 70% of women are out there, and they’re not exposed, they’re not educated about beer.” • These are among the opportunities to expand the beer industry even further. CHARLENE: Panelists: Charlene Louw (CEO of the Beer Association of South Africa), Derek Szabo (CEO of Signal Hill Products), Megan Gemmell (Founder and brewer at Clockwork Brewhouse), and Jessi Flynn (CEO and Managing Director of Kweza Craft Brewery). Moderator: Joya Taft-Dick Signal Hill Products started in 2012 with a single employee to now employing over 500 in 2025. Derek was asked to talk about that 13-year journey, with an eye to lessons learned and what has changed along the way. • In 2011/2012 they saw an opportunity in the market. At the time, there was just Castle Lite and Jack Black. • From 2012 to 2016 they had a difficult time getting the consumers’ attention. “I do worry from the industry perspective, [during that period] there were a lot of own goals. People made rubbish beer. Everyone.” • “We then started to get much better, I would say, between 2016 and 2019, and then unfortunately Covid happened when we were just getting through that perception of, ‘I’m not going to pay R50 because it might not be good.’ • “Where does craft start, and where does it end?” he asks, and then concedes that SHP may not be craft anymore – with brands like KIX – but they needed to create a sustainable business. “A lot of people have given us a hard time over the years, but we’re still here. We employ 500 people. [And this model] allows us to sell Juicy Lucy. Who would have thought in 2012 that we could sell maybe 20,000 litres a month of Juicy Lucy.” • “I think we are starting to get that perceptionback, of quality, but times are tough… The real challenge is, how do we get consumers to pay that extra for a better-quality product, consistently.” • Emphasis was placed on the importance of consistency, and as Derek highlighted: that’s on the industry to ensure. There are people who will only ever order the craft brands they know and trust because they are not willing to take an (expensive) risk on the unknown. The product needs to be consistently worth a higher price point. DEREK: